Welcome!
My name is Nic Barilar, and I’m a theatre teacher, historian, and artist. My students call me “Dr. Nic.”
I hold a PhD in theatre and performance studies from the University of Pittsburgh and an MA in English literature from the University of Alabama.
I joined the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL) in 2022 as Assistant Professor of Theatre Studies. Here, I teach courses in theatre history and literature as well as performance, direct productions in our 6-show season, research Irish theatre history, and serve as recruitment coordinator.
Nic at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland
Theatre Practice
Theatre itself is at the heart of all of my work. My experiences as an actor and director deeply inform my teaching and research and vice versa. I typically direct a production each semester at UWL. I’m a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and have worked across the eastern US in professional and academic settings. I’ve also served productions as a dramaturg, dialect coach, and scenic painter and carpenter. You can learn more about my work by clicking the buttons below.
Above: Máiréad Ní Ghráda’s On Trial at PittStages.
Directed by Nic Barilar.
Photo Credit: Danielle Barilar.
Research
Broadly speaking, my research investigates transnational issues in theatre history, especially in mid-century Irish theatre and drama. This has included, for example, a series of histories on performances of banned Irish plays that work to understand censorship in transnational terms. I have also endeavored to reframe the work of major playwrights like Samuel Beckett through transnational lenses. My work has been published as chapters in books as well as articles in scholarly journals. Follow the button below to learn more!
Newspaper article from a private collection, published 1958.
Teaching
For over a decade, it’s been my pleasure to teach undergraduate courses in theatre history, literature, performance studies, acting, musical theatre, freshman writing, and others. I have taught in a wide range of settings and for many different audiences, including asynchronous online theatre courses for general education students, upper-level BFA acting courses, and scenic painting to early-career artists and interns. My pedagogy seeks to help students understand the links between culture and performance and that students can change culture through their own art and scholarship.
Photo Credit: Lovely Day Photography.